書蟲三級 鐵路少年：1.故事的開始

1．The beginning of things
1．故事的開始

They were not railway children at the beginning. They lived with their father and mother in London. There were three of them. Roberta—she was always called Bobbie, and was the oldest. Next came Peter, who wanted to be an engineer when he grew up. And the youngest was Phyllis, who was always trying to be good.

起初，他們并不是鐵路少年。他們和父母一起住在倫敦。他們兄弟姐妹三個，分別是：羅伯塔——大家常叫她博比，年齡最大。彼得排行老二，他長大后想當工程師。老三叫菲利斯，她一向很乖巧。

Mother was almost always at home, ready to play with the children, or to read to them. And she wrote stories, then read them to the children after tea.

媽媽幾乎一直待在家里，或者陪孩子們玩，或者讀故事給他們聽。她還自己編寫故事，在茶后讀給孩子們聽。

These three lucky children had everything that they needed. Pretty clothes, a warm house, and lots of toys. They also had a wonderful father who was never angry, and always ready to play a game.

這三個幸運的孩子擁有他們想要的一切。漂亮的衣服，溫暖的家，還有好多好多的玩具。他們還有一個難得的好爸爸，他從不發(fā)脾氣，而且經常陪孩子們做游戲。

They were very happy. But they did not know how happy until their life in London was over, and they had to live a very different life indeed.

他們生活得非常幸福。但直到他們在倫敦的生活結束以后，他們才真正明白了那段生活有多么美好，以后他們不得不過一種截然不同的生活。

The awful change came suddenly.

這個糟糕的變化降臨得十分突然。

*　　*　　*

*　　*　　*

It was Peter's birthday, and he was ten years old. Among his presents was a toy steam engine, and it quickly became Peter's favourite toy. But after three days, the engine went BANG! Peter was very unhappy about his broken toy. The others said he cried, but Peter said his eyes were red because he had a cold.

那天是彼得的生日，他已經10歲了。在他收到的生日禮物中，有一個玩具蒸汽火車頭，這個火車頭很快就成了他最喜歡的玩具。但過了三天，這個火車頭突然“砰”地一聲壞掉了！彼得為此悶悶不樂。家里的其他人都說彼得哭了，可彼得聲稱他的眼睛變紅是因為他感冒了。

When Father came home that day, Peter told him the sad story about his engine, and Father looked at it very carefully. Mother and the children waited.

那天，爸爸回來的時候，彼得把這個不幸的消息告訴了他。爸爸仔細地檢查了那個火車頭。媽媽和孩子們等在旁邊。

Is there no hope?' said Peter.

“沒希望修好了嗎？”彼得問。

Of course there's hope!' said Father, smiling. 'I'll mend it on Saturday, and you can all help me.'

“當然有希望！”爸爸微笑著說，“星期六我給你修好，你們都可以給我?guī)蛶兔Α?rdquo;

Just then, someone knocked at the front door. A few moments later, Ruth—the maid—came in. 'There are two gentlemen to see you,' she said to Father.

就在這個時候，有人敲他家的前門。幾分鐘之后，魯思——家里的女傭——走了進來。“有兩位先生想要見您。”她對爸爸說。

Now, who can they be?' said Father.

“現(xiàn)在這個時候，會是誰呀？”爸爸說。

Try to be quick, dear,' said his wife. 'It's nearly time for the children to go to bed.'

“盡量快點兒，親愛的，”他妻子說，“孩子們就該上床睡覺了。”

But the two men stayed and stayed. Father's voice got louder and louder in the next room, but the children and Mother could not hear what was said. Then Ruth came back and spoke to Mother.

但是，那兩個人待了很久。隔壁房間里，爸爸講話的聲音越來越高，不過媽媽和孩子們還是聽不清他在說些什么。后來，魯思回來跟媽媽說話。

He wants you to go in, ma'am,' she said. 'I think he's had bad news. Be ready for the worst.'

“夫人，他想讓您過去一下，”魯思說，“我想可能是不好的消息。做好最壞的準備吧。”

Mother went into the next room, and there was more talking. Soon after, the children heard Ruth call a taxi, then there was the sound of feet going outside and down the steps.

媽媽進了隔壁那個房間，又是一番交談。過了一會兒，孩子們聽到魯思叫了一輛出租車，隨后傳來了有人下樓出門的腳步聲。

Mother came back, and her face was white.

媽媽回來了，面無血色。

It's time to go to bed,' she said to the children. 'Ruth will take you upstairs.'

“該上床睡覺了，”她對孩子們說，“魯思會帶你們上樓的。”

But, Father—' began Phyllis.

“但是，爸爸——”菲利斯首先說。

Father's had to go away on business,' said Mother. 'Now, go to bed, darlings.'

“爸爸要出差，”媽媽說，“現(xiàn)在，上床睡覺吧，親愛的。”

Bobbie whispered, 'It wasn't bad news, was it?'

博比小聲說：“該不是什么壞消息吧，是嗎？”

No, darling,' said Mother. 'I can't tell you anything tonight. Please go now.'

“不是，親愛的，”媽媽說，“今晚我什么也不能告訴你們，請現(xiàn)在就去睡覺吧。”

*　　*　　*

*　　*　　*

Mother went out early the next morning, and it was nearly seven o'clock before she came home. She looked ill and tired, and the children asked her no questions.

第二天一早，媽媽就出門了，直到將近晚上7點才回來。她看上去很不舒服，很疲憊，孩子們什么都沒敢問。

Mother drank a cup of tea, then she said, 'Now, my darlings, I want to tell you something. Those men did bring bad news last night. Father will be away for some time, and I'm very worried.'

媽媽喝了一杯茶，隨后她說：“我親愛的孩子們，現(xiàn)在我想告訴你們一些事情。昨晚那兩個人的確帶來了壞消息。爸爸要離開我們一段日子，我很擔心。”

Is it something to do with the Government?' asked Bobbie. The children knew that Father worked in a Government office.

“是跟政府有關的事情嗎？”博比問。因為孩子們知道，爸爸在一個政府部門工作。

Yes,' said Mother. 'Now don't ask me any more questions about it. Will you promise me that?.'

“是的，”媽媽說，“別再問這件事了，你們能答應我嗎？”

The children promised.

孩子們都答應了。

Everything was horrible for some weeks. Mother was nearly always out. Ruth, the maid, went away. Then Mother went to bed for two days, and the children wondered if the world was coming to an end.

隨后的幾個星期里，情況變得一團糟。媽媽幾乎不著家。魯思，就是家里的女傭，也走了。然后，媽媽有兩天臥床不起，孩子擔心是不是世界末日就要來了。

One morning, Mother came down to breakfast. Her face was very white, but she tried to smile.

這天早晨，媽媽終于下樓吃早飯了。雖然她仍是面色蒼白，但還是努力露出一些微笑。

We have to leave our house in London,' she said. 'We're going to live in the country, in a dear little white house near a railway line. I know you'll love it.'

“我們得離開倫敦的這個家了，”她說，“我們要住到鄉(xiāng)下去，住到一個靠近鐵路的、可愛的白色小房子里。我相信你們會喜歡它的。”

A busy week followed, packing everything up in boxes. The children almost enjoyed the excitement.

接下來的一個星期顯得非常忙碌。他們把所有的東西都打包裝箱。孩子們干得熱火朝天。

We can't take everything,' Mother told them. 'Just the necessary things. We have to play "being poor" for a while.'

“我們不能把什么都帶走，”媽媽告訴他們，“只帶那些必需品。我們得過一陣子‘窮’日子了。”

On their last night in the house, Peter had to sleep on the floor, which he enjoyed very much. 'I like moving,' he said.

在老房子住的最后一個夜晚，彼得不得不睡在地板上，這讓他興奮不已。“我喜歡搬家。”他說。

I don't!' said Mother, laughing.

“我可不喜歡！”媽媽笑著說。

Bobbie saw her face when she turned away. 'Oh, Mother,' she thought. 'How brave you are! How I love you!'

當媽媽把臉轉開時，博比看清了她的臉。“呵，媽媽，”她心想，“您是多么勇敢呀！我太愛您了！”

Next day, they went to the railway station, and got on a train. At first, they enjoyed looking out of the windows, but then they became sleepy. Later, Mother woke them.

第二天，他們來到火車站，登上了一列火車。起初，他們盡情欣賞著車窗外的景色，但很快他們就有些困了。后來，媽媽叫醒了他們。

Wake up, dears,' she said. 'We're there.'

“醒醒，親愛的，”她說，“我們到了。”

There were no taxis, and a man with a cart took their boxes. The children and Mother walked behind the cart along a dark, dirty road, which seemed to go across the fields. After a while, a shape appeared in the darkness.

這里沒有出租車，一個男人用手推車推著他們的箱子。媽媽和孩子們跟在手推車的后面，沿著一條又黑又臟的路走著，好像在穿過田野。過了一會兒，他們看到黑暗中有一個模模糊糊的輪廓。

There's the house,' said Mother.

“那就是我們的房子了。”媽媽說。

The cart went along by the garden wall, and round to the back door. There were no lights in any of the windows.

那人推著手推車，沿著院墻繞到了后門。所有的窗戶里都沒有一絲光亮。

Where's Mrs Viney?' said Mother.

“瓦伊尼夫人在哪兒？”媽媽說。

Who's she?' asked Bobbie.

“她是誰呀？”博比問。

A woman from the village. I asked her to clean the place and make our supper,' said Mother.

“她是住在村里的一個婦女。我讓她來幫我們打掃房屋，準備晚飯。”媽媽說。

Your train was late,' said the man with the cart. 'She's probably gone home.'

“你們的車晚點了，”推手推車的人說，“她可能已經回家去了。”

But she has the key,' said Mother.

“可鑰匙還在她手里呢。”媽媽說。

It'll be under the doorstep,' said the man. He went to look. 'Yes, here it is.'

“可能放在臺階下了。”推車的男人說。他走過去瞧了瞧，“是的，在這兒呢。”

They went inside the dark house. There was a large kitchen with a stone floor, but there was no fire, and the room was cold. There was a candle on the table, and the man lit it. Then a noise seemed to come from inside the walls of the house. It sounded like small animals running up and down. Then the cart man went away and shut the door. Immediately, the candle went out.

他們終于進了這個漆黑的房子。屋里有一個大廚房，用石頭鋪地，但廚房里沒有火，屋里很冷。桌子上有根蠟燭，那個男人點著了它。這時，從房屋的墻里傳出了一些聲音，聽上去像是小動物躥上躥下的聲音。隨后，推車的男人走了，并關上了門。蠟燭立刻就熄滅了。

Oh, I wish we hadn't come!' said Phyllis.

“哦，我真希望我們沒到這里來。”菲利斯說。